Monday, April 12, 2010

I’ve been going through the Sermon on the Mount with a group of university students since January. We pray, read, talk, and try to come to terms with what Jesus meant. A few weeks ago I asked my friends, “How many of you think it’s possible to fulfill Jesus’ teaching in your everyday lives?” Only one person out of twenty raised a hand. One. Does this strike you as a problem?

Why would 19 out of 20 students invest a semester studying a sermon they had no hope of living up to? The Sermon on the Mount has been regarded as the essence of Jesus’ teaching. Matthew chapters 5, 6 & 7 have been called the constitution of the Kingdom of God. But like many famous Bible passages--like much of our worship--we honor the ideal and then return to the “real world,” leaving His words behind. Granted, these are challenging words from Jesus. Here's just a small sampling:

Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. (5:19)

I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. (5:22)

Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (5:48)

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. (6:25)

For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks find; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. (7:8)

Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. (7:21)

The Sermon on the Mount brings this question into sharp focus, but it applies to all of Jesus’ actions and teaching--why would Jesus demonstrate or share the impossible with us? If he is the Master of Living, would he demand of us what we cannot give?

Here’s a Monday meditation: if we think of Jesus as the kind of person who would never say “be warm and filled” to a beggar without helping the poor man, why would we think of Jesus as commanding the impossible of his disciples? As students of Jesus, our answer makes all the difference. I invite you to share your answer in the "comments" section--I'm eager to read your opinion.

13 comments:

This is very good. The christian life is one where we are continually stretched to follow Jesus into greater realms of impossibility. Where as we struggle with our personal weaknesses and we trust in Him to empower, renew and deliver us--as we do this we become more and more formed into someone who looks like Him on the inside. Like you said, many get discouraged in this struggle of faith and create a theology that allows for something less than Christ-likeness in their lives. Such is why we hear stuff like "only Jesus was perfect" or "i'm just a sinner saved by grace". When this occurs we lose sight of the same Jesus who called Peter to walk on the water and asked him why he doubted when he began to sink.

Thanks for your comment! I especially like this phrase, "we are continually stretched to follow Jesus into greater realms of impossibility." Whether we are talking about character development or ministry that reflects the supernatural aspects of the scripture, it all depends upon his grace and empowerment--but we should desire to attain to his example. If we "miss," at least we miss in the right direction.

I think it is important to understand that Christ did not call us to perfection. However, I think that it is very easy to put all of our eggs in that basket so to speak. I think that's what the students in your Bible study have done. The thought process goes as follows, "Well Jesus knows I can't be perfect so better luck next time maybe?". The words discipline and pursuing righteousness are easy to be misplaced and far from our glossary of terms we use to describe our faith. But being a disciple of Jesus means being active in the spiritual disciplines. I feel that Richard Foster's Celebration of Discipline is a great resource in understanding what it means (pragmatically) to follow Jesus. The important thing to realize is that the goal is not perfection at all, but to grow closer to Christ by following him in the best way we can. Jesus knows we aren't going to be perfect, but there is great honor in striving for perfection in pursuing righteousness.

Thanks for your kind words, stewplay. Foster's Celebration of Discipline is a great place to start. And I agree: perfection is not the goal, "Christlikeness" is. The cool thing about Christlikeness is we can grow to resemble him more and more--and no growth is possible apart from his gracious assistance. Peace!

honestly, i think perfection is the goal, even indirectly if you want to call it that. jesus was perfect, yes? so if christlikeness is the goal, then so is perfection. i think this frustrates a lot of people, myself included. but jesus did tell us to be perfect. what i'm not saying, and what jesus is not saying, is put yourself under the whip and punish yourself into perfection. complete perfection won't be fully achieved until the coming of the kingdom in its fullness. but does that mean, "aim low?" i don't think so. i think it means strive and pray for perfection, just like jesus taught us to in his model prayer: "your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." jesus taught us to pray for and expect to experience the impossible. i guess it depends on what logic you want to follow: either jesus wont ask us to do something that he won't empower us to do, or he doesn't really mean what he says when he asks us to do something impossible.

Thanks, Matt. I like the metaphor of target shooting: everyone aims for the middle. I suppose you could have a philosophical discussion about whether it's possible to actually hit the center, but no one in their right mind would say, "I can't hit the middle, so I'll just aim for the outer ring." We look at the Center and let the arrow fly.

Sorry if my comment came accross a little harsh. I was sitting in McDonald's, typing it out on my phone, and was in a bit of a rush, so I didn't get to go into much detail or acknowledge the other points of view. I apologize. I definitely understand I suppose the point I was trying to make was that we should definitely aim for Christlikeness; but we all know that we will, in one way or another, fall short. It seems that doing this may discourage us every time we do fall short, but that's why, I think, the theme of Hope runs so strongly through the Bible, particularly the N.T. The hope of glory, restoration, the full coming of the Kingdom. It encourages us to push forward, hold onto hope. Again, i hope i didn't come accross earlier as harsh or legalistic. I'm definitely not for that. I'm most certainly for becoming more like Christ, and that is what he was saying when he said "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." Peace and love to you all!

I was just reading John 6 today when Jesus asked his disciples to feed over 5,000 people, and I think this connects a bit to your excellent post. He does ask us to do the impossible, but he doesn't abandon us.

Sorry if my comment came accross a little harsh. I was sitting in McDonald's, typing it out on my phone, and was in a bit of a rush, so I didn't get to go into much detail or acknowledge the other points of view. I apologize. I definitely understand I suppose the point I was trying to make was that we should definitely aim for Christlikeness; but we all know that we will, in one way or another, fall short. It seems that doing this may discourage us every time we do fall short, but that's why, I think, the theme of Hope runs so strongly through the Bible, particularly the N.T. The hope of glory, restoration, the full coming of the Kingdom. It encourages us to push forward, hold onto hope. Again, i hope i didn't come accross earlier as harsh or legalistic. I'm definitely not for that. I'm most certainly for becoming more like Christ, and that is what he was saying when he said "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." Peace and love to you all!

Thanks for your kind words, stewplay. Foster's Celebration of Discipline is a great place to start. And I agree: perfection is not the goal, "Christlikeness" is. The cool thing about Christlikeness is we can grow to resemble him more and more--and no growth is possible apart from his gracious assistance. Peace!

I think it is important to understand that Christ did not call us to perfection. However, I think that it is very easy to put all of our eggs in that basket so to speak. I think that's what the students in your Bible study have done. The thought process goes as follows, "Well Jesus knows I can't be perfect so better luck next time maybe?". The words discipline and pursuing righteousness are easy to be misplaced and far from our glossary of terms we use to describe our faith. But being a disciple of Jesus means being active in the spiritual disciplines. I feel that Richard Foster's Celebration of Discipline is a great resource in understanding what it means (pragmatically) to follow Jesus. The important thing to realize is that the goal is not perfection at all, but to grow closer to Christ by following him in the best way we can. Jesus knows we aren't going to be perfect, but there is great honor in striving for perfection in pursuing righteousness.

Thanks for your comment! I especially like this phrase, "we are continually stretched to follow Jesus into greater realms of impossibility." Whether we are talking about character development or ministry that reflects the supernatural aspects of the scripture, it all depends upon his grace and empowerment--but we should desire to attain to his example. If we "miss," at least we miss in the right direction.